Capital Punishment/Death Penalty in U.S. Is it a deterrence of crime - Research Paper Example

Download file to see previous pages This resulted in considerable calls to re-reinstate execution. Later, the punishment was repealed. Hence, the state commenced executing criminals (Kelly, 2009). Within a year of repeal of the act, there was a reduction in crime. This reveals that in some ways execution has deterred crime. However, the reduction in criminal activity might be attributable to other factors such as increase in patrols and surveillance. Most crimes that led to execution are murders. Therefore, it is crucial to comprehend how most murder occurs. Research shows that most murder occurs when the perpetrators are under the influence of substances e.g., alcohol, or they are emotionally unstable. Substance use reduces the ability of an individual to foresee the consequences of their actions. Similarly, emotional instability causes individuals not to foresee the consequences of their actions. Subsequently, they do not whatsoever consider that they would face execution owing to their offences. Presence of the punishment would hence, not influence the occurrence of such crime since the perpetrators think irrationally. It is not until after some time that the repercussion of the actions sinks in. Additionally, some individuals are psychopaths. These perpetrators are psychological unstable thus, they commit murder irrespective of the consequent punishment (Kelly, 2009).
Execution of criminals entails terminating their lives. This is in itself a crime. For people that value life, this form of punishment is beyond their consideration. The query on the impact of execution of criminals on the transgression rate is tricky. The impact of execution is hard to assess since criminal activities depend on countless variables. Factors such as poverty, drug use and lawlessness trigger crime in the society. Therefore, reduction of drugs, improvement in living standards and enforcement of the regulations can result in considerable in decline in crime ...Download file to see next pagesRead More